Vietnam to grant $2.6 billion in loans for high-tech farming

A woman packs rice into bags at a factory in Tri Thuy Village, outside Hanoi. Photo by Reuters

High-tech agriculture will allow the country to compete with others in the future, officials say.

The Vietnamese government plans to grant loans worth up to VND60 trillion ($2.6 billion) in total to develop high-tech agriculture in the country.

The package will be provided through a number of commercial banks with favorable lending terms, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told a conference on Sunday.

Vietnam regards a modern agriculture sector which produces organic and clean products, along with IT and tourism, as three main pillars to make the economy more competitive in the new era. “We strive to soon make Vietnam a leading supplier of agricultural products,” Phuc said.

The country has been successful in pulling in foreign investment in recent years, but capital inflows for agriculture remain limited.

In the first three quarters of this year, there were 518 FDI projects in the field, accounting for only 2.4 percent of the total number of projects, official data showed.

Each agricultural project had a value of $6.7 million on average, much lower than the average investment capital of $14.7 million for all FDI projects.

One of the pioneers in the sector is Ho Chi Minh City. The municipal government is seeking investment in a high-tech agricultural development program that is expected to cost VND2.6 trillion ($114 million).